Deep in the Roads (one-shot)
by Aldrea Alien
Summary: This was written for a prompt (the Inquisitor's first meeting with the Warden or Hawke). So, my Inquisitor, Din Lavellan, takes a little trip below ground and finds herself stumbling upon someone she didn't quite expect to meet...


_So this is the Deep Roads_.

Din peered over the edge of the bridge. The sight went on and on. They'd come far under the earth already, there must be an end. She kicked a rock into the darkness and listened. Nothing.

She huffed the hair from her eyes. _Bloody tomb_. Her soul ached for the green of the forest, for the contented groans of the halla and the creaking of aravels in on the move. Sights like this only rammed home how long it'd been since she had last seen her clan.

At least she wasn't going through this endeavour alone. Blackwall marched at the head of their little group, as per her order. A fool she would be to leave a Warden behind on such a mission as this. Solas, as he'd always done as of late, insisted on accompanying them and, with Varric still smarting over their last mission, she'd managed to convince Sera into venturing down here.

The Warden halted, his two-handed sword suddenly at the ready. The path ahead didn't appear to hold any threats, but they'd encountered enough Darkspawn for her to have complete faith in Blackwall's abilities.

True enough, a clump of Darkspawn surged out from a side passage.

Din raced ahead, scoffing at the Warden's protest as she darted passed his lumbering form. Heat surged through her veins, focusing into her hands. She didn't need his help for this mob; a simple fireball should be enough to send the creatures scattering, maybe even send a few off the side. She just had to get close enough to—

An arrow whistled by, breaking her concentration. Her power fizzled. Ahead, one of the Darkspawn let out a cry. Sera's doing? But the archer knew not to waste arrows until Din's first blast.

The ground rolled. Din stumbled, her fall halted by Blackwall's sure hands. _Magic_! But not by her or Solas' hand. An emissary, perhaps? She scanned the confused mob. Now would be the perfect time for a—

Stalactites tumbled from somewhere above. The massive slabs of rock crashed onto the Road and took out a large portion of the 'spawn.

"My lady," Blackwall said, "we must retreat."

She nodded and readily accepted his aid as they scurried back along the Road. A terrible, deafening rumble followed in their wake. She glanced back and her foot caught, throwing her to the ground. Dust filled her sight and she felt the pull of gravity even before her eyes opened. The vision of the terrible sucking darkness beneath them sprang into view.

Din bit back a scream and scrambled for purchase. Soon enough, the familiar hands of her companions latched onto her, dragging her back onto stable ground. She brushed the dust from her face and whirled to greet the Darkspawn threat, only to find they'd no interest in her or her group.

A different figure stood amongst the creatures. Clearly not a ghoul by the way he fought them. Fire and ice erupted from the thong as the unknown person dispatched with those who'd not fallen to the quake or the rocks.

She stepped back, instructing the others to fan out. If this was the source of magic she'd felt earlier, then she wasn't about to give him a clear target once he was through with the Darkspawn.

The last of the creatures fell and the figure straightened. "Your company travels light for such a dangerous path." He swung about, the tip of his staff clocking one of the 'spawn as it clambered onto the bridge, sending back into the darkness. "You can't be lost. Not this deep."

_Another Warden_. But not garbed in their armour. _Curious_.

His gaze dropped to the corpses littering the stone. Strangely, a number around his feet were slowly dissolving. Seemingly satisfied with his handiwork, he leant on his staff and turned his full attention on them. "What would such a small party be doing down here?"

Din tugged her attire into some semblance of order, grumbling when her efforts did little towards banishing her dishevelled appearance. Abandoning the leather, and aware she didn't make the most imposing of figures, she thrust back her shoulders. "Our business is our own and we had this skirmish well underhand." She considered her words and added, "but we thank you for your assistance."

Chuckling, he stepped closer. The torchlight glittered upon an earring hiding amongst the black, unkempt locks. "You're obviously one of the Dalish." His dark eyes darted to Blackwall. "And you've a Warden in tow. You don't expect me to be a tad curious?"

Her gaze dropped to his hands. He seemed to be absently playing with what appeared to be a ring. Was it dangerous? Was _he_? She glanced at the Darkspawn. All that remained were corpses. _Yes, he is_. A better question then would be was he a danger to _her_? "Who are you?" Was he a maleficar? Was he even a Warden?

The man shrugged. "A simple enough question, I suppose. I am Daylen Am—"

"You try to dump the _mountain_ on me now!" an incredulous voice demanded from the other side of the rubble.

Smirking, Daylen spun to face the figure clambering into view. "Serves you right for not staying put. And _you_ almost shot this poor woman. She's far too pretty to be a Darkspawn."

Din glared at the approaching man, willing her cheeks to stop their infernal heating. He'd actually been _aiming_ for her?

"Stay put? _Stay put_! You think I am about to let the great 'Hero of Ferelden' die in some Darkspawn hole?"

_Hero_? Din's mind latched onto the word and her gaze swung to suspiciously eye Daylen. _This_ was the fabled Hero of Ferelden? _Hardly impressive_.

"That time will come eventually," Daylen replied.

As the man got closer, Din saw, much to her surprise, that it was an elf. He even had something akin to vallaslin on one side of his face. "That is true, _amor_. But not _today_."

She tugged on Daylen's sleeve, determined not to be ignored. "If you truly are the Hero of Ferelden, then I charge you with helping us turn the tide of our battle."

"Well aren't you a pushy little thing." He glanced over his shoulder at her and winked. "What terrible thing do you need killing, Bunny?"

Din blinked, taken aback by the address. Why did so many human men think they could be so personal with whomever they'd just met? "You must be most familiar with the Darkspawn and their ways, seeing that you killed the Archdemon."

His eyes narrowed. "You already have one Warden with you, Bunny, why do you need two?"

"My name is Din Lavellan," she said, the words hissing out between her teeth.

He arched a brow at her as if he knew exactly what her name meant, then shrugged. "I like Bunny better."

"You will address me as Inquisitor."

"So you're the one I hear everyone talking about. One of the Dalish. My, my." Daylen grinned down at his simple wooden staff. "I'm sure that hasn't trod on anyone's toes in the slightest."

Behind her, she could practically feel daggers forming in the air. From which one of her companions, she wouldn't dare to wager on. "There have been ... disagreements," she admitted.

"I'll bet." He swung his staff over his shoulder. "I suppose this has something to do with the green glow in your hand, the same kind that's now glowing in the sky?"

Din clasped her hands behind her as casually as possible. It figured he would've noticed. Even the Hero of Ferelden couldn't survive for as long as he had on chance alone. "Still, I would like your assistance." If anything, she'd have a powerful mage on her side as well as another Warden. And she'd very much like to know that swirling red spell which seemed to stun several of the creatures at once.

"That way is clear." He pointed back over his shoulder at the rubble and Darkspawn corpses. "Follow the tunnel and you'll reach the surface in two days. We're heading further down."

"Because I like nothing more than wading through their filth," Daylen's companion muttered. Strange how the armoured man eyed them with a lot more suspicion than the mage. Was he another Warden?

"Thank you for the information, Ser Warden, but we're not ready to leave just yet." She glanced back at her group and frowned. Could she trust Daylen with the truth? _Maybe a little_. He _was_ a Warden and they'd been acting weird lately. He'd find out the rest in time. "Our business is also below."

"I sense little down there but Broodmothers." He tilted his head and grinned. "Except you're not after Darkspawn, are you?" Like the first time, there was a cocky quirk to his lips. He was so very certain of himself and his current line of reasoning.

Unfortunately, he was also right and it made Din want to slap him all the more. "If you'll help us, _I_ will explain along the way." Feeling she was losing ground, she marched past him and began to pick her way through the debris his assault on the Darkspawn had created.

"If I may, Inquisitor," Daylen called. "Down, is _this_ way." He pointed at a seemingly innocuous lip in the ledge. Without waiting for her response, he hoisted his staff onto his shoulder and started towards it, his companion following close on his heels.

Sera frowned at the pair. "We gonna trust them?"

_Probably not_. The man was clearly down here on a mission of his own. Finding out whether it clashed with their needs would be worth looking into. "Well, he is a Warden. Even so..." She smiled at her companions. "Let's not forget to watch each other's backs, yeah?" Adjusting her helmet, she trotted after the rapidly descending duo.


End file.
